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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: AbbVie, Biogen, Cree, Etsy, Gilead, Pfizer, Rite Aid, Solar Edge, Square, 3D Systems, Virgin Galactic and More

Jon C. Ogg

Published: February 27, 2020 9:05 am

Last Updated: February 27, 2020 9:12 am

Stocks have tried unsuccessfully to bounce in the past two days, and Thursday was indicated down about 1.3% in futures as a community-acquired coronavirus case was reported in California. Some investors and analysts are also citing election jitters with many business sectors being targeted in the election. Despite this being an election year and despite the global economy being affected by the coronavirus outbreak, many investors have yet to make any major changes to their holdings after the incredible gains from 2019.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week. Our goal is to try to find new ideas for traders and long-term investors alike. Some of the daily analyst calls cover stocks to buy, while others cover stocks to sell or to avoid.

We have provided these analyst calls in a quick-hit summary for easy reading, and additional comments and trading data have been added on many of the calls. The consensus analyst price targets and other valuation metrics are from the Refinitiv sell-side research service.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations from Thursday, February 27, 2020.

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV) was started with an Equal Weight rating and a $97 target price (versus an $88.41 prior close) at Barclays. AbbVie had a consensus target price of $101.08.

Adamis Pharmaceuticals Corp. (NASDAQ: ADMP) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Dawson James, with the firm noting that a recent filing came with too much dilution.

Applied Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: APLT) was started with an Overweight rating and a $64 target price (versus a $41.70 close) at Barclays. Its consensus target price was $50.67.

Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) was started with an Overweight rating and a $389 target price at Barclays.

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: BKNG) was down almost 3% at $1,678.20 on Wednesday and was indicated down another 2% at $1,645.00 on Thursday. Wedbush Securities maintained a Neutral rating and $1,750 share price, noting that it was off to a strong start but the promise of a strong 2020 has been wiped out by the coronavirus. Needham maintained its Buy rating but trimmed its target price to $2,000 from $2,200.

Carvana Co. (NYSE: CVNA) was down 2.4% at $101.56 ahead of earnings and was indicated down 13% at $88.10 after revenues missed expectations. Carvana was maintained as Buy at Needham and as Neutral at Wedbush.

Casella Waste Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CWST) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that this stock has a wonderful chart but guiding below the estimate has a way of bringing down estimates. Shares last closed at $52.51 and have a consensus price target of $55.00.

Continental Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLR) was down 5.1% at $20.78 ahead of earnings on Wednesday, but Thursday’s post-earnings reaction had shares down 24% at $15.72. KeyBanc Capital Markets downgraded it to Sector Weight from Overweight.

Cree Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE) was started with an Overweight rating and a $62 target price (versus a $44.84 close) at Morgan Stanley. It has a 52-week trading range of $40.46 to $69.21 and a consensus target price of $47.78.

Digimarc Corp. (NASDAQ: DMRC) was downgraded to Hold from Buy with a $24 target price (versus a $26.35 close) at Craig-Hallum.

Etsy Inc. (NASDAQ: ETSY) was up 1.6% at $50.69 ahead of earnings and was indicated up 9% at $55.25 afterward, with a 52-week high of $73.35 and a consensus target price of $63.94. Oppenheimer raised it to Outperform. Wedbush maintained its Outperform and $66 target price, noting that the end result was much better than it had feared.

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Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) was started with an Underweight rating and a $62 target price at Barclays. The stock closed up over 6% at $74.70, after starting trials here in the United States to see if its drug can help cure the coronavirus. Shares were indicated up another 5.1% at $78.52 on Thursday.

Logitech International S.A. (NASDAQ: LOGI) was raised to Overweight from Neutral with a $48 target price at JPMorgan. Shares closed up 0.2% at $39.23, and the consensus target price was $54.20.

Medifast Inc. (NYSE: MED) was last seen down 15% at $80.20, despite beating earnings expectations. Jefferies downgraded it to Hold from Buy.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) was started with an Equal Weight rating and a $36 target price (versus a $34.72 close) at Barclays. Pfizer had a consensus target price of $42.54.

Rite Aid Corp. (NYSE: RAD) was raised to Neutral from Sell at Guggenheim. The stock traded down 3.4% at $13.03, and its shares were indicated down at $12.80 on Thursday.

Sabre Corp. (NASDAQ: SABR) was down 16% at $16.15 on Wednesday after the travel software and technology provider warned of widespread cancellations and lower bookings due to the coronavirus. Oppenheimer downgraded it to Perform from Outperform. Its prior consensus target price was $23.50.

SolarEdge Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: SEDG) was named as the Bull of the Day again at Zacks, which said that the stock has soared over the past year and the company topped earnings in the fourth quarter. Shares most recently closed at $132.41, with a consensus price target of $124.83.

Square Inc. (NYSE: SQ) was down 0.6% at $76.59 ahead of earnings but was last seen trading up 4% at $79.65 afterward. Canaccord Genuity raised its Hold rating to Buy. SunTrust Robinson Humphrey reiterated its Buy rating and raised its target to $100. Needham reiterated its Buy rating and raised its target price to $105 from $80, and JPMorgan reiterated its Overweight rating and raised its target to $86 from $75.

StoneCo. Ltd. (NASDAQ: STNE) was raised to Overweight from Neutral and its target price was raised to $48 from $43 (versus a $41.57 close) at JPMorgan. The 52-week range is $23.15 to $45.72.

3D Systems Corp. (NYSE: DDD) was maintained as Neutral but its target price was raised to $10 from $8 (versus a $10.24 close) at B. Riley FBR.

Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL) was raised to Outperform from Neutral with a $48 target price (versus a $37.82 close) at Wedbush. That is after a 14.6% drop on Wednesday, and shares were indicated down another 2% at $37.10 on Thursday morning.

United Therapeutics Corp. (NASDAQ: UTHR) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform with a $145 target price (versus a $105.81 close) at Cowen.

Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. (NYSE: SPCE) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform with a $25 target price at Credit Suisse, and Morgan Stanley downgraded it to Equal Weight from Overweight with a $30 target price. The stock closed down 15.5% at $28.75, and its recent high was $42.49. Shares were indicated down 14% at $24.60 on Thursday morning.

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With the coronavirus now on our shores, it makes sense to look at stocks that consumers need regardless of temporary or, perhaps even worse, long-term health issues.

Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Casper Sleep, CME, Deere, Domino’s Pizza, Home Depot, Nike, RealReal, Salesforce.com, SolarEdge Technologies, Sunrun, Walt Disney and many more.